Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-11-20
ARIZONA PIONEERS.
General Nelson A. Miles, Address
Before the Society.

Before the Society.
The following address was delivered
before the Association of Pioneers Of
the Territory Of Arizona, by General
Miles during his recent visit to Tucson.
To the general reader, the most inter-
esting point will be the novel sugges-
ton thrown out that the General Gov
eminent might undertake system q
internal improvements in the way Of
developing water for the lands of this
and other territories whose only draw
back is lack Of irrigating facilities.
1t is an idea which will bear some
consideration
Gentlemen of the Society of Arizona
Pioneers:
1t il gratifying to meet the repre-
sentatives of the Pioneers of Arizona
tonight; for aside from the honor of
= addressing you esteem it a pleasure
to be able in this way to continue my
acquaintance with the people of your
Territory.
would be an unworthy descendant
of the pioneers and untrue to the
spirit of my ancestors, who were
among the earliest settlers of this
country, were not in full sympathy
with the pioneers of the present
day. The traditions and impulses
that came to me through that line
age have ever impressed me with the
highest respect for those men who
boldly encountered the dangers of a
transatlantic voyage, who first planted
the banners of civilization upon this
continent, and who spread the light of
progress through an unknown wilder
ness.
If there is one class of people in the
United States who represent the true
spirit of American progress and civil
cation, it is the pioneers. They we're
ever the boldest, most enterprising,
self-sacrifcing and generous people. To
them the restraints and conve ntionali-
ties of the limited sphere Of the east
were distasteful. They wearied of the
restlessness which they felt in the
narrow confines of life in the crowded
cities and towns OF the older commu-
mites, and seemed to long for the
scenes of the undeveloped west
where they might mingle with nature
in her undisturbed, primeyal condi-
ton; and surely any man who has
ever been alone amid such scenes
and surroundings, beholding nature in
all her grandeur and beauty as the
great Architect designed and prepared
it for the abode of man, must have
realized that thrilling sensation of de-
light enjoyed by the pioneer-breath-
ing the power of heaven-the surest
inspiration of pure thought and hon
est motive. Be a man what he may,
amid such scenes and influences his
soul expands, and though he had
been a slave before, the voice of
the spirit of freedom.
1t was not strange, therefore, that
with such inspirations the earlier set
tiers of America conceived the lea of
political and religious liberty, AMI the
spirit of independence was planted in
their hearts-that spirit which finally
led to the establishment of the great
republic and gave to us those bless
ings of modern civilization which we
to-day enjoy, and which have contrib
uted SO much to the welfare Of man
kind.
We need to look back to the days of
Standish, Church, Williams, Allen,
Morgan, Putnam, George Rodgers
Clark, and the many others, to see the
fearless spirit and heroic enterprise
that prompted them to extend the set
Elements and colonies through the for
ests of the East, encountering every
hardship, contending inch by inch
against savage foes in overwhelming
numbers, until that resolute spirit Of
progress burst forth in 1776 in the
Declaration of Independence.
The army OF Washington was largely
composed of pioneers, hunters, farm |
ers and mechanics. 1t was the men
with hunting-jackets and leather
aprons, who taught the British batal- |
lions under Burgoyne the true forces |
of that indomitable spirit of the |
American people.
1t was the pioneer spirit that
prompted Daniel Boone, Benton and
Huston, and their cotemporaries to |
explore and develop what was then |
an almost unknown region, and open |
the way to the emigrant across the |
Mississippi valley.
From the Alleghanies to the Golden |
Gate, the pioneers traversed the region |
of the Mississippi, they scaled the |
Rocky Mountains and sought out the |
most available passes through the |
rugged mountain ranges, which are |
now the greatest avenues of commun-
soofsov oy,H ond Ev1-
ally descended to the Pa |
cifc coast to develop the Won
derful gold fields that have contri-
buted so much to the wealth of the |
country, and to the benefit of man.
kind. Turning back again, they |
explored every district of country, and |
gave knowledge OF that immense area
of agricultural land which the judi
cious laws of our country threw open |
to the settler to enable him to plant |
his home.
When we look around us now over
this vast expanse of unoccupied land
III the West, when We consider that |
the people of the United States have |
taken up billion acres of land under |
the homestead act, and that there are
still four hundred and fifty millions of |
acres unsurveyed, an area enough |
for ten million homes, not in
Guiding Alaska, and from a |
personal knowledge of the terri
tory can say that it has wealth and
a future more promising than is gen.
orally supposed. With our population
Of sixty million of people our aggre-
gate wealth as nation exceeds that |
OF the richest country in the old world |
by two hundred and seventy-six mill
ion dollars, and we might we'll pause
and wonder at the promise of the fu-
ture!
. Arizona alone has nearly $4,000 900 |
acres of public land, nearly IA ZOO, 900 |
acres of which have been taken up
under the Homestead Act.
When we consider the fact that dur